Peace Like A River


It was a wide river, mistakable for a lake or even an ocean unless you'd been wading and knew its current. Somehow I'd crossed it... Now I saw the stream regrouped below, flowing on through what might've been vineyards, pastures, orhards... It flowed between and alongside the rivers of people; from here it was no more than a silver wire winding toward the city. - Leif Enger, Peace Like A River

Friday, January 20, 2006

The devil's servants

On Thursday, there was another bombing in Israel, this one at a Tel Aviv restaurant. Fortunately, only the bomber was killed, no great loss to the world.

Israeli officials said that only the 22-year-old bomber died in the blast, which occurred just before 4 p.m. inside a restaurant popular with immigrant workers near the city's old bus station. Israeli police said only a portion of the bomber's explosives detonated, probably sparing lives.

The radical Palestinian group Islamic Jihad asserted responsibility for the bombing in a videotape released to media outlets shortly after the attack, the first in Tel Aviv since February.


On Friday, Israel accused Syria and Iran of planning and funding the attack.

Sharon aide Raanan Gissin told Reuters Israel had "ample, concrete evidence" that the Tel Aviv bombing, for which the Islamic Jihad group claimed responsibility, was bankrolled from Tehran and planned in Damascus. The bombing injured 30 people.

Gissin said he could not reveal the evidence. Israel has often made similar accusations, noting that Islamic Jihad has offices in Damascus.

Gissin's comments echoed similar accusations by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to Israeli newspapers.

The Haaretz daily reported that Mofaz said Israel had "decisive proof that the attack in Tel Aviv was a direct result of the Axis of Terror that operates between Iran and Syria."


For my money, Israeli intelligence is the best in the region. One can only surmise how Israel obtained such specific proof.

Israel will be understandably reluctant to reveal their sources and methods, so Israel may be reluctant to pursue Syria and Iran in a venue like the UN. However, Israel has far more effective means of going after those who plot these attacks.

In a troubling parallel story, one that has implications beyond just this attack, on Thursday Iranian President Ahmadinejad began a visit to Syria, his first meeting there with Bashar Assad.

(In November, Iranian representatives went on a goodwill tour of sorts to several nations. The contacts included Syria, and were an attempt to shore up support for the current crisis over Iran's nuclear program.)

Two of the most ardent supporters of terrorism on the planet, and the day they begin their meeting, one of their client groups, Islamic Jihad, carries out this bombing. This is a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. It is disturbing when heads of state are so open in their support for terrorism, when they don't even take pains to make sure there are no attacks during a state visit.

Today, Ahmadinejad even met with leaders of radical Palestinian groups, including Islamic Jihad and Hamas, and pledged to support them.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met in Damascus with the leaders of 10 radical Palestinian movements including Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

Ahmadinejad said he "strongly supports the Palestinian people's struggle" during the meeting, according to Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) official Maher Taher Friday.

Taher said the militant chiefs pledged to Ahmadinejad that the "Palestinian resistance and struggle would continue" against Israel.

"We expressed our solidarity with Syria, which is under pressure due to its national positions, as well as with Iran which has the right to possess nuclear technology for peaceful purposes," he added.

Islamic Jihad chief Abdullah Ramadan Shala, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and PFLP-GC leader Ahmed Jibril were among those at the meeting, Taher said.


This is a defiant stance, a declaration of Iran and Syria's commitment to terrorism.

Israel is well aware of the threat, and with Iran's determined push for nuclear weapons (combined with Ahmadinejad's expressed desire to wipe Israel off the map), one can only the imagine the talks that are going on behind closed doors on how best to respond.

For its part, the United States cannot sit back and say it's merely a Palestinian problem. This aggressive support for terrorism will not leave us alone, either, and we'd best be prepared to deal with it.

Tick tick tick...

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home